Ghrelin is a gut-derived acylated peptide hormone that stimulates secretion of growth hormone and ACTH, as well as orexigenesis. Our central thesis is that ghrelin protects mammals against starvation by: increasing appetite and food intake; increasing secretion of GH to protect lean body mass; decreasing locomotor activity to preserve calories; and regulating partitioning, including glucose homeostasis. The overall hypothesis of this application is that (1) cortisol and insulin are the dominant negative regulators of ghrelin release during normal daily patterns of feeding and fasting, and (2) this specific control mechanism is altered by obesity, such that the lack of adequate ghrelin suppression contributes to overeating. Our laboratory has developed sensitive and specific sandwich assays for intact active acyl-ghrelin and des-acyl ghrelin. Using these assays, we will address the following specific aims: 1: Determine the temporal relationships between pulsatile acyl- and des-acyl ghrelin secretion and plasma concentrations of insulin, cortisol and growth hormone in healthy lean and obese adults. This will provide the preliminary data for predicting the outcomes of the direct interventions in Specific Aims 2 and 3. In addition, the data will allow for the direct comparison of the same relationships in lean versus obese. The hypotheses will be tested using a minimal mathematical model of ghrelin release (Specific Aim 4). 2: Determine the effect of cortisol on ghrelin secretion to determine its role in diurnal variation in ghrelin secretion. The results of these experiments will translate the hypothesis of ghrelin regulation by cortisol into a minimal mathematical model. 3: Determine whether insulin inhibits ghrelin secretion and whether glucose-related ghrelin suppression is mediated by insulin. It is proposed that suppression of ghrelin by insulin will depend on insulin sensitivity/resistance in a similar fashion to glucose disposal as measured using a euglycemic insulin clamp. The results of these experiments will assist the translation of the hypothesis of ghrelin regulation by insulin into a minimal mathematical model. 4: Identify differences in ghrelin regulation between lean and obese subjects and determine the mechanism(s) for dysregulation of ghrelin in obesity using a minimal model of ghrelin regulation (MMGR). To unify the relationships between ghrelin, insulin and cortisol from Specific Aims 2 and 3, we will reconstruct the system interactions and verify the consistency of the physiological hypotheses that cortisol and insulin comprise the dominant controls of the secretion of ghrelin and determine the manner in which the ensemble that regulates the secretion of ghrelin is altered in obesity. Our studies are expected to illuminate underlying mechanisms involving ghrelin in the development of obesity; this may lead to new approaches to the treatment for obesity and related conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome.PROJECT NARRATIVE: Our studies are expected to illuminate underlying mechanisms involving ghrelin in the development of obesity; this may lead to new approaches to the treatment for obesity and related conditions, such as diabetes mellitus and Metabolic Syndrome.